Ramesh Sunny Balwani, the former Theranos COO and president, was convicted guilty of all 12 fraud counts. According to media sources, a jury bench in the Federal Court of California convicted Balwani guilty of wire fraud and conspiracy to conduct wire fraud. Sunny Balwani is the ex-boyfriend of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes. He is also the company’s previous COO and a former president. In 2003, Balwani and Holmes created the now-famous Theranos.
Theranos ex-COO Sunny Balwani was found guilty on all 12 criminal charges of fraud Thursday.
In Seasons 15, we detailed Balwani’s relationship with #Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes and how the company ended up in one of the biggest corporate fraud cases of the 21st century. pic.twitter.com/4usezo44bx
— American Greed (@AmericanGreedTV) July 8, 2022
Balwani Fraud
Authorities said that Holmes and Balwani lied about their firm, claiming that Theranos’ technology could perform hundreds of medical tests with just a few drops of a patient’s blood. This drew financial interest from retail behemoths like Walgreens and Safeway.
However, their deception was exposed in March 2018. Balwani and Holmes have been charged with massive fraud and are suspected of stealing more than $700 million from investors over the course of many years. The SEC accused them of making inflated and fraudulent assertions about the company’s technology, business, and financial performance.
Although Balwani has not yet been sentenced, since he has been accused on 12 distinct charges, he may face a sentence equivalent to or even longer than that of Holmes. Sunny Balwani’s attorney, Jeffrey Coopersmith, insisted until the trial that he had done no fraud. He stated:
“Mr. Balwani did not commit any offenses.” He did not deceive Theranos investors, who were among the world’s most sophisticated. He did not deceive customers, but rather worked relentlessly to provide them with access to their own health information. Mr. Balwani is innocent and eager to defend his reputation at trial.”
He held Holmes responsible for catching Balwani:
“There’s no reason why he wouldn’t have noticed the same thing: charm, passion, vision, and a desire to improve diagnostic testing.” And he believed in that vision.”
Andrey Spektor, a criminal defense attorney who is not engaged in the case, stated:
“Balwani managed the lab for a while and was just as interested in administration as Holmes.” To some degree, the government’s case against him was stronger.”
All ABout Sunny Balwani
Balwani was the second-highest-ranking employee of Theranos. The firm was started by Holmes. He was in charge of the day-to-day operations. In 2003, he met Holmes in Beijing when both were undergraduates at Stanford. He was 37 years old, and Holmes was 19 years old. They were also said to be in a love connection.
Earlier in the trial, Prosecutor Robert Leach stated:
“Ms Holmes and Mr Balwani collaborated on almost everything.”
At Theranos, Holmes was the company’s face, but Balwani oversaw everything. He made all of the decisions and attended all of the investor meetings. He was one of the company’s first investors, putting up $15 million during its early days.
